~Meditations on Friendship~

"Friend"_defined as one with whom one enjoys mutual affection and regard."Friendship" is the relationship between friends.Friendship is a concept always in flux,with many interpretations as individuals count its blessings and disappointments.There's woman to woman,woman to man, man to man,summer friendships(fair weather friends) even animal to human and so on.....Friendships can be positive or negative,complicated or highly valued! Whatever the circumstances may be..as one of my friends says_"It is what it is".

I'm reflecting upon this notion of "Friendship"as a result of two events that happened recently in my life. One of which can be summed up as George Chapman said_"Trust not a reconciled childhood friend,for good turns cannot blot out old grudges"! The second event_the passing of a Best Childhood/Friend/Classmate. My meditations on the subject matter had me reaching for my favorite book on Friendships. Of course,that is the essence of a "Sage Book Whisperer "_there's always a book! 

 Here's a few perceptive musings on the "Essence of Friendship".

One friend in a lifetime is much;two are many;three hardly possible. ~Henry Adams~

Talking with a friend is nothing else but thinking aloud.~Joseph Addison~

"Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary.~Bronson Alcott~

I have three chairs in my house;one for solitude,two for friendship,three for company.
~Henry David Thoreau~

A true friend is one Soul in two bodies.~Aristotle~

Forsake not an old friend,for the new is not comparable to him.A new friend is as new wine:when it is old thou shalt drink it with pleasure.~The Bible(Old Testament)

Friendship is a word,the very sight of which in print makes a heart warm.~Augustine Birrell~

Have no friends not equal to yourself.~Confucius~

What is a friend?I will tell you.It is a person with whom you dare to be yourself.~Frank Crane~

The best way to keep your friends is never borrow from and never lend them anything.
~Paul De Kock~

The only way to have a friend is to be one.~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

When our friends are present we ought to treat them well;and when they are absent,to speak of them well.~Epictetus~

He's a friend that speaks well behind our backs.~Thomas Fuller~

'Tis hard to find a man of great estate,that can distinguish flatterers from friends.~Horace~

Be slow to fall into friendship;but when thou art in continue firm and constant.~Socrates~

Friendships are discovered rather than made.~Harriet Beecher Stowe~

A friend is one who dislikes the same people that  you dislike.~Proverbs~

I will miss the voice of my friend,our long thought-provoking conversations,ending with a scripture to read,our childhood memories,the laughter,the hugs at Class Reunions,the early morning Happy Birthday song we sang to each other on our birthdays_never forgetting those dates,EVER! and always at the end of our phone chats_I Love You More was our signoff.

My husband understood this signoff throughout the years and became friends with Jackie as well!Ah,he had no choice :-)!  BUT,I get the last say_"Love You More",Jackie.True Friends,Forever!

"If you have a friend worth loving,Love him.Yes,and let him know...That you love him,ere life's evening...Tinge his brow with sunset glo.Why should good words ne'er be said ..Of a friend till he is dead? ~Daniel W.Hoyt~

In Remembrance of my Friend/Classmate Class of 1967
    #10 QB_Ralph J.Bunch High School,Crockett,Texas
                      ~ R.B."Jackie Boy"Jones Jr.~ 

             Precinct 4 Houston County~ City Councilman R.B."Jackie Boy" Jones Jr.